Shoe-sewing machine.



L. E. TOPHAM.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED on. 30. 1912.

1,191,747. Patented July 18, 1916.

9 SHEETS-$HEET 2 I I 1 1 l I l I ll lnes'sesx [It vezzlan:

L. E. TOPHAM.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-30.1912.

Patented July 18, 1916.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 3- JitUitZOi MW 7 75 W L. E. TOPHAM.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men OCT. 30. 1912.

Patented July 18, 1916.

9 SHEETS--SHEET 4.

L. E. TOPHAM.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 30.19M-

Patented July 18, 1916.

L. E. TUPHAM.

SHOE SEWlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 30. 1912.

Patented July 18,1916.

L. E. TOPHAM.

SHOE SEWING MACHiNE.

I APPLICATION FILED OCT. 30. 1912. 1,1 9 1 ,747. Patented July 18, 1916.

SSHEETS-SHEET 1.

L. TOPHAM. SHOE SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION man OCT. 30. 912.

Patented July 18, 1916.

9 shins-such a.

a i i g l I L. E. TOPHAM.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED 00130. 1912.

Patented July 18, 1916.

9 SHEETS-HEET 9 [lave/ita UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NE\V JERSEY. A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

SHOE-SEWING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

1,191,717. Patented July 18,1916.

Application filed October 30, 1912. Serial No. 728,579.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAURENCE F. T OIHAM, a citizen of the United States.residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShoe- Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The invention relates to sewing machines, and more particularly tocurved hook needle sewing machines for sewing inseams of boots andshoes. In machines of this class during a cycle of operations of themachine in sewing a seam, starting with the needle in retracted positionwith a loop of thread held in its hook, the needle advances through thepreviously formed loop and through the materials, and after it hasreached its advanced position the thread is laid in the hook of theneedle by the looper. When the needle retracts, a loop of thread isdrawn through the material and through the preceding loop which, whenthe needle advanced, lay about the shank of the needle. In order thatthe shoe may be removed when the scam has been completed and anothershoe placed in position to be sewed, it is essential that the. needle beretracted out of engagement with the work. Before the shoe can then beremoved, the loop of thread last t'ormcd must be removed from the barbot' the needle. In order to tree the last loop from the barb of theneedle and bring the needle to rest out of engagement with the work, inthe machines heretofore devised, it has ordinarily been necessary forthe operator to manipu late either the shoe or the machine. Certainautomatic mechanisms have been devised tor accomplishing these resultsby arresting the forward movement of the machine when the needle hasexecuted at least a portion of its work penetrating movement, and thenreversing the direction of movement of the main driving shatt ot themachine and thereafter causing the shaft to come to rest when the needleis retracted out of engagement with the work.

The primary object of the present invention is to produce a curved hookneedle inseam shoe sewing machine provided with mechanism for placingthe thread and the parts of the machine in such a condition as to permitthe ready removal of the shoe from the machine and the placing ofanother shoe in position to be sewed. without reversing the rotation ofthe main shaft of the machine.

\Yith the above object in view, the invention contemplates the provisionin a machine of this class of mechanism to tree the last needle loopfrom the stitch t'orming devices during the forward rotation of the mainshaft and thereafter to arrest the torward rotation of the main shaftand stop the machine with the needle in retracted position out ofengagement with the work. In the preferred embodiment of the inventionthe last needle loop is i vcd from the stitch forming devices byrendering the loopcr inactive during the last cycle of operations beforethe main shaft is brought to rest.

The machine is provided with mechanism for advancing and retracting thewelt guide during each cycle of opcrations. and a further tcaturc ot theinvcinion contemplates the provision of means tor causing an increasedretracting movement to be imparted to thc welt guide as the torwardrotation of the main shaft is arrcstcd. By this provision the welt guideis brought to a position such that it present no obstacle to the rcadyrcnioval ot the shoe or the inscrtion of anothcr shoe in the machinc.

Another fcaturc ot the invention contemplates the provision of mcansacting auto-- matically to actuate the tension dcvi c to rclcasc thctension on the thread as the lorward rotation of the main shaft i allclcil. to allow the removal of the work from thc machine.

Further features of the invention consist of certain constructions.arrangements and combinations of parts. the advantages of which will beobvious to onc skilled. in thc art ll'Ulll the following dcsci'ii tion.

The various t'caturcs ot' the invention will be radily understood froman inspection of the accompanying drawings and the following dctailcddcscription of thc mechanism illustrated thcrcin.

In the drawings. l igurc l is a sidc clcvation of the licad ot' a \\cltand turn shoc sewing machine embodying the 'l'caturcs ot' the inventionin their prcl'crrcd forms. illustrating the parts of the machine in thepositions which they occupy during the sewing operation; Fig. 2 is aplan of a portion of the head of the machine, showing the parts in thepositions which they assume after the 7 machine has been brought to restat the completion of the sewing operation, with a part of the casingbroken away and parts of the mechanism shown in section; Fig. 3 is aside elevation of a portion of the machine illustrating particularly themechanism for actuating the looper and the mechanism for rendering thelooper inactive, showing the parts in the positions which they assumeafter the treadle has been released to stop the machine, butbefore themachine has been brought to rest: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a.portion of the machine illustrating particularly the mechanism foractuating the welt guide, the parts being shown in the positions whichthey occupy during the sewing operation; Fig. 5 is a side elevation ofthe mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4, showing the parts in the positionswhich they occupy when the machine has been brought to rest; Fig. (i isa side elevation of the mechanism illust ated in Fig. 3, showing theparts in the positions which they assume when the machine has beenbrought to rest; Fig. 7

a view in vertical section of the mechanism on the line 8% of Fig. 6;Fig. .l is a rear 'elevation of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4,together with a portion of the mechanism for arresting the rotation ofthe shaft; and Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the complete machine.

In the drawings, the invention is illustrated as embodied in a welt andturn shoe sewing machine for sewing the inseams of boots and-shoes, suchas shown and described in the patent granted to Andrew Eppler, No.1,108,560, dated August 25, 191i. This machine is provided with a curvedhook needle 1, a looper i, a thread finger 3, a welt guide 4 and a hackgage 5, aml a feed point and channel guide not shown, and these devicesare operated through suitable connections by cams ca rricd by the ma inshaft (3 of the machine. As is usual in this type of machine the mainshaft makes one revolution for each cycle of operations performed by thestitch forming and work feeding devices. During the sewing operation,the machine is driven through a. belt pulley 7 secured to the end of themain shaft and connected by a driving belt 8 with a pulley 9 mountedupon the base of the machine. The pullcy 9 is connected by means of thebevel gears 10 with a sleeve 11 mounted on the driving shaft 12 andcarrying one member 13 of the main driving clutch. The driving shaftcarries the other member 11 of the clutch and also carries the drivingpulley 15, through which motion is imparted to the driving shaft. Theengagement of the members of the driving clutch is controlled through atreadle 16 connected with the clutch operating wedge 17. hen the treadleis depressed, the members of the driving clutch are forced intoengagement and the machine is driven at a speed de pending upon thepressure which the op rator applies to the trcadle. When the treadle isreleased, the clutch members are disengaged, thus disconnecting the mainshaft of the machine from the driving haft. The upward movement of thetreadle when itis released also throws into operation the mechanismwhich brings the machine to rest with the parts in proper position forthe removal of the slice. This ima'hanisni in the construction showncomprises a friction clutch consisting of the clutch members 18 and 1f).The clutch member 18 is formed on a spiral gear in which loosely mountedon the cam shaft '5 and is driven at a constant slow speed, in the samedirection as the direction of rotation of the main shaft during thesewing operation by a spiral pinion 21 secured to a shaft 2; The shaft22 is continuously driven from the driving pulley 15 through a belt 23passing over a pulley formed on the hub of the pulley 15 and over apulley llsecured to the shaft 22. The other member ltlof the'clutch isformed on a flange 2.) projecting from a sleeve 26 which is looselymounted upon the cam shaft (3. The sleeve 26 is free to slidehingitudinally on the shaft but is connected to rotate with the shaft bymeans of a block 27 secured to the pulley T and arranged between lugs 28projecting radially from the sleeve 20. The sleeve is held normally inposition with the clutch members out of engagement by a spring 2)arranged in a recess in the block 27 and interposed between the bottomof the recess and the head of abolt which carries a plate 30 engagingthe lugs The clutch member 18 is drlven-at a constant speed, as statedabove, and the speed of this member is very slow compared with the speedof rotation of the cam shaft of the machine during the sewing operation.'lhcreforc when the clutch members 18 and 11) are engaged, they act as afriction brake to absorb the energy due to the momentum of the cam shaftand of the machine until the speed of rotation of the main shaft is thesame as that of the clutch member 19. After this has occurred. theclutch member 18 acts as a driving member for the clutch member 1!.) andthe main shaft, and themain shaft is thereby rotated in a forwarddirection at slow speed until the stopping devices act to bring the mainshaft to rest with the needle and other parts of the stitch formingmechanism in the proper position for the removal of the shoe. Thestopping devices are constructed and arranged so that. the

clutch members 18 and 19 are engaged and disengaged at definite pointsin a cycle of operations of the machine and after the clutch members areengaged. the main shaft executes a definite movement before it isbrought to rest. The mechanism for engaging and disengaging the membersof the clutch at the proper time in the rotation of the main shaftcomprises a cam groove 32 formed in the sleeve 26 and engaged by a rollon one arm of a bell crank lever 33. The other end of the bell cranklever is provided with a recess 31 adapted to receive a locking pin 35which is normally held out of engagement with the lever so that duringthe normal running of the machine the lever is oscillated idly by thecam. The locking pin is mounted in the end of a slide 36 which is heldin normal position by a spring 37. The spring surrounds a bolt or rod 38extending from the rear of the slide and is interposed between ashoulder on the slide and the inner end of an ad justable screw threadedsleeve :32) through which the rod 38 passes, the sleeve being threadedinto a suitable portion of the frame. The rod 38 is held in position tomaintain the spring under compression by the engagement of a nut 39"threaded on the rod with an arm 40 projecting from a fixed bracket onthe frame of the machine, the arm being provided with an aperturethrough which the rod passes. The locking pin is forced in a directionto engage it with the bell crank lever by a spring 41 and the lower endof the pin is connected with the trcadle 16 so that the pin is held downout of engagement with the bell crank lever so long as the treadle isdepressed and the driving clutch is acting to drive the main shaft ofthe machine. A latch 42 is also connected with the lower end of thelocking bolt and is arranged to engage a shoulder 43 on the slide 36 andhold the locking bolt in its lower position until the treadle has beenraised sufficiently to allow the locking bolt to engage the recess inthe arm of the bell crank lever. In the construction shown. the latch 42is loosely pivoted on the rock shaft 41 and is connected with the shaftby a pin projecting through a slot in the hub of the latch. The rockshaft 44 is mounted in a block it secured on the lower end of thelocking bolt and carries an arm 47 which is connected by a link 4% withthe treadle .lti. \Vhen the trcadle is depressed. the rock shaft itturns until the latch 42 brings up against the slide 36. and then duringthe continued downward movement of the treadlc the locking bolt is drawndown against the tension of its sprin This carries the latch 42 belowthe shoulder 43. \Vhen the treadle is rel *ased, the latch 42, preventsthe upward movement of the locking pin and the rock shaft 11 is rockeduntil the pin strikes the end of the slot in the hub of the latch andswings the latch outward. thus disengaging it from the shoulder 1 Whenthis takes place the spring forces the pin upward against the under sideof the bell crank lever. and when the hole in the lever registers withthe pin, the pin snaps up into the hole, thus connect ing the lever withthe slide it The cam IL is so timed that the hole in the end of the -cllcrank lever is brought into position to register with the locking pin atthe proper time in the cycle of operations of the stitch formingmechanism. When the pin is engaged with the bell crank lever, the leveris held from movement about its pivot, and the cam 32 acting on the rollcarried by the lever shifts the clutch sleeve 26 to bring the members 18and 19 of the clutch into engagement. 'hen the lever and slide 36 arelocked together by the locking pin, the movement of the lever isresisted by the spring 257, and the force with which the members of thefriction clutch are pressed together will depend upon the tension of thespring. In the construction shown, the parts are so timed and controlledthat the locking bolt is engaged with the lever and the friction clutchengaged while the needle is retracted, and the forward rotation of themain shaft is continued thereafter until the needle has penetrated thework, and then retracted out of engagement with the work, at which timethe clutch members are disengaged and the rotation of the shaft isarrested, thereby bringing the parts of the machine to rest. \Vhen theclutch members 18 and 19 have been engaged by the action of the cam 32.the

main shaft 1s first slowed down to the slow speed of the member 18 ofthe clutch by the braking action of the members of said clutch, and therotation of the main shaft is then continued in a forward direction atslow speed for substantially a complete revolution, or until the shaftagain arrives at a point where the cam acted to engage the members ofthe clutch, when the opposite portion of the cam from that which causedthe engagement of the clutch members causes the clutch members to beagain disengaged. Simultaneously with the disengagement of the clutchmembers, the motion of the cam shaft is arrested by a suitable brake sothat the needle executes substantially a full cycle of its movementafter the friction clutch is engaged and the needle is brought to restin retracted position out of engagement with the work. The main shaft istherefore brought to rest with the needle in its rctracted position andthe other parts of the stitch forming mechanism in such positions thatthey do not interfere with the removal of the shoe. hen the frictionclutch is disengaged. the forward movement of the main shaft is finallystopped by a friction brake which is'applied to a brake disk on the mainshaft of the machine. In the construction illustrated in the drawings,the brake consists of a brake strap 49 arranged to engage the surface ofa brake disk 50', the forward extremity of which strap is attached at afixed point on the framework of the machine, and the rear extremity ofwhich is secured tn the vertical arm of the lever 49 pivoted on a shaft50 securt in the machine frame.

As above described the machine is brought to rest with the needle inretracted position during the forward rotation of the main shaft andduring a forward cycle of movement of the machine, and mechanism is provided for rendering the looper inactive during the last cycle ofmovement of the needle before the main shaft of the machine is broughtto rest, so that the needle is retracted while its hook is empty, and isfree of thread when it is brought to rest out of engagement with thework. In the present embodiment of the invention this mechanism isactuated in timed relation to the parts of the machine and to thedevices for arresting the forward rotation of the shaft, by suitableconnections from the mechanism for engaging the members of the brakingand slow speed forward driving mechanism, and for disengaging saidmembers and stopping the machine. In the construction illustrated in thedrawings the looper is provided with a shank which is received in acylindrical socket formed in the lower end of an arm 51, the connectionbetween the looper shank and the arm being such that the looper can beadjusted vertically. The shank of the looper is held in the arm by meansof a clamping screw 52. The arm 51- is pivoted midway its length to ablock 53 secured to the forward end of a cam actuated slide 54. Theslide 54: is arranged above the needle to reciprocate in a planeparallel with the plane of the needle, so that the reciprocatingmovements of the slide impart forward and rearward 1novc ments to thelooper. The movements of the looper at right angles to the plane of theneedle are produced by oscillating the arm 51, the movements of thelooper due to the reciprocation of the slide and the oscillation of thearm acting to carry the thread around the needle and lay it in the barb.The upper end of the arm 51 provided with a socket in which a rod 55 isreceived. This rod is provided at its upper end with a socket or bearingwhich receives a rod 56 scoured to an arm 57 projecting from a rockshaft 58 arranged parallel with the slide 54.

-The rod 55 is free to slide in the socket in the upper end of the arm51, and the rod 56 is free to slide in the socket in the upper end ofthe rod 55, so that the arm 51, can be oscillated from the rock shaft 58and at the same time the slide 54 can be reciprocated. The shaft 58 isprovided with a downwardly projecting arm 59 at its rear end which isprovided with a roll engaging a cam on the cam shaft of the machine.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the looper is renderedinactive by causing the looper to operate in a single plane only duringthe last cycle of movement of the needle before the main shaft ol themachine is brought to rest. To this end the slide 54 is constructed ofindependently movable parts (30 and 61, of which the part 60 is arrangedto slide within the part 61, as illustrated particularly in Figs. 1, 3and 7. The parts (30 and 61 he lc r slide 5% are connected by a kage ortoggle mechanism consisting of ie links and 63. \Vhen the machine is l,unning normally the linkage (iii-63 is maintfiined in the posh tionillustrated in Fig. 1, so that the two parts of the looper slide moveforwardly and rearwardly in unison, thereby imparting the proper forwardand rearward move ments to the looper. hen the looper is thrown out ofaction, the movement of the rear cam actuated part 61 of the looperslide is absorbed in the relative angular movement of the parts of thelinkage (vi- 6 3, so that substantially no forward and rearwardmovements are imparted to the part 60 of the looper slide. The linkage(32-433 is maintained in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 during thenormal operation of the machine by a tilting pin (it mounted upon an rm65 attached to a rock shaft 66 jour naled in a bearing in av bracket(37. The link (33 of the linkage carries a pin 68, to the end of whichis attached a sleeve (39 which is arranged to slide on the t ting pin64. During the normal operation of the machine the tilting pin (it ismaintained in a position substantially parallel with the slide 51,thereby maintaining the linkage (32---(33 in the position illustrated inFig. 1, and causing the two parts of the looper slide to move in unison.The looper is thrown out of action by tilting the pin til into theposition illustrated in Fig. 3. hen the tilting pin occupies thisposition, and the part 61 of the looper slide is moved forwardly undcrthe action of the cam, the sleeve (33), guided by the tilting pin, movesdownwardly at an angle with relation to the looper slide, carrying thelinkage (32 33 to the position illustrated in Fig. 3, thereby absorbingthe forward movementof the. rear part of the looper slide in the angularmovement of the parts of the linkage, so that substantially no forwardmovement is imparted to the looper. \Vhen the part (31 of the, looperslide is moved rearwardly, the linkage is again brought to the positionillustrated in Fig. 1. It will therefore be observed that while thetilting pin is maintained in the position illustrated in Fig. 3,

substantially no forward and rearward movements will be imparted to thelooper. In the construction illustrated the tilting pln is moved from aposition parallel with the looper slide to the position illustrated inFig. 3 at the time when the members 18 and 19 of the friction cl-utchare engaged by suitable connections withthe rod 38.

block 75 carried by a pin 76 whichis mounted in a block '77 adj ust'ablycarried between nuts 39*" and 7S u'pon the outer end of the rod 38. \Vhen the members of the friction clutch are engaged by the cam 32, therod 38 is moved outwardly through the sleeve 39. This movement of therod through the connections described operates to tilt the i tilting pin(it into the position illustrated in Fig. 3. The machine is timed sothat this occurs when the part 61 of the looper slide is retracted, andthe parts are so arranged that at this time the axis of the pin 68,which carries the sleeve 69, and the axis of. the rock shaft (36 areinalincment; therefore the tilting of the pin does not affect-the relativepositions. of the. links (52 and'63. V hen. however, the rear part ofthe looper slide advances, the nmvenwnt of this part of the slide isabsorbed in the relative angular movement of the-parts of the linkage,as above described, but at each retracting movement of the rear memberof the looper slide the linkage is restoredto the position illnstratedin Fig. 'ben the cam 32 operates to disengage the members of thefriction clutch, at which point the shaft is brought to rest. the rod-18 is returned to its initial position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6.'.his movement of the rod restores the tilting pin to the positionillustrated in Fig. l' through the mechanism described. so that when themachine is brought to rest. the. parts'of the looper mechanism are inposi tion ready to start their normal operation when the machine isstarted.

The merhanism with which the machine is provided for applying the brakesl rap -lto the surface of the brake disk which it. is

arranged to engage comprises a linkage or toggle consisting ol the linksTi and H). of which the link Ti is romu-rled lo the upper extremity ofthe lever l The link SU is provided with a slot at its l'orwardextremitv which l'('('(i\('s a pin 51 carried by the upper end of an arm32 on the level 72-T l. The link so is provided with an arm fi l whichis (tollluriwl by a comparatively light. tension spring Hl with the armH2. When the machine. is performing its normal operation the. linkage T-S(l is maintained in the position illustrated in Fig. l by the pressureofthe pin 81 against the end of the slit in the link80, the tension ofthe spring 84 not being suflicient tostraighten the linkage. At thistime the coiled sprmg 8.3 surrounding the hub of the lever 49 operatesto maintain the brake stra in a slacken -d condition, as shown inFig. 1. When the rod 38 moves to the right in F ig. 1 upon theengagement of the members of the fric tion clutch, the forward movementof the pin 81in the slot in the link relieves the pressure upon theforward portion of the linkage 7980, and the coiled spring '84 then actsto straighten the linkage, as shown in Fig. 3. \V hen the rod 38.isreturned to the left upon the-separa'tionof, the members of the frictionclutch, thearm 82 of the lever 72-71 is moved .to the left (Fig. '1),and the engagement of the pin-81 inthe end of the slot in the'link'80forces the-linkage 79-80 to the left, thereby moving the lever 45) in a.direction to apply the brake strap 49 to the surfaceof the brake disk50. The forward movement of the main shaft, which is then rotating atslow speed is thereby quickly arrested withmttashock or jar.

The tension devices of the machine illustrated in the drawings are ofwellskn'own construction, and comprise a tension wheel at the rear ofthe machine, a brake disk 86 fast upon the shaft of t-lie't ension.wheel, a

friction brake :shoe S7- bearing upon the pe-; riphery of the brakedisk, :1.- pivoted lever 88 to one end of which thgbrake shoe isconnected, and a spring pressed rod 89 connectcd to the otherend of thelever. In order that the tension may be released when the machine isbrought-to rest, the lever 49 is provided with an arm 90, and to thisarm is pivotally connected the upper end of a rod 91 which extendsdownwardly through a hole in the end of the brake shoe carrying lever 5and is provided with an adjustable nut J2 arranged to engage the brakeshoe. carrying lever to move the brake shoe from the l'ricl ion disk.The. rod i l is pressed upwardly b v means of a coiled spring 93. Whenthe lever i fis moved to the left to appl v the brakestrap 4! to thesurfare. of

the. ram disk. the arm is depressed, thereby releasing the tension.-

'lhc welt guide. r. is mounted upon the lower end of a pivoted weltguide carrying arm fll whirli is connected by a link 95 to the. weltguide slide 96. The welt guide is \ieldingl v advanced b a roiled spring97 engaging a pin on the. welt guide slide in the usual manner, and isretracted at the proper time in the operation of the machine b a lever Ei ronnerted by a link 93 with a ('lnlrli box surrounding the slide, andprovided with the usual clutch mechanism for engaging the slide. Theback rest 5 is carried on the forwa rd extremity of the back rest slide100 which is moved forward by the usual spring 101. The mechanism forlocking the back rest and welt guide slides is of the usualconstruction, and comprises clutch rolls 102 and 103, arranged to engagesuitable friction surfaces on the welt guide and back restsliderespectively, a wedge shaped supporting member 104 for the rollspivoted to the arm of the cam actuated lever 105 provided with an arm106 carrying a cam roll which engages a cam on the cam shaft of themachine, which cam actuates the lever to release the slide. The lever isactuated to lock the slides by a tension spring 107 connected at oneextremity with the arm 105 of the lever, and at the other with a fixedpoint on the machine frame.

The welt guide of the machine is advanced and retracted during eachcycle of operations in substantially the same manner as in the machineof the Eppler patent referred to above. In the present invention,however, mechanism is provided for causing an increased retractingmovement to be imparted to the welt guide as the forward rotation of themain shaft of the machine is arrested to permit the ready removal of theshoe and the insertion of another shoe in the machine. The mechanism foractuating the welt guide is illustrated particularly in Figs. 1, 4 and5. The lever 97 is pivoted at 108 on the machine frame, and is providedwith a rearwardly extending arm 109. An arm 110 is pivoted at 111 to thearm 109 of this lever, and is provided at its outer extremity with a camroll which engages a cam on the cam shaft of the machine. A linkage ortoggle consisting of links 112 and 113 connects the arm 109 of the lever97 with the vertical arm of the lever 49, and the arm 110 is connectedwith the central joint of said linkage by a link 114. The position ofthe welt guide mechanism when the machine is in normal operation isillustrated in Fig. 4:, the parts being shown in said figure in thepositions which they assume when the welt guide is advanced. It

- will be noted from an inspection of this figure that when the verticalarm of the lever 49 is in forward position, the oscillatory movements ofthe arm 110 cause very little change in the relative angular positionsof the links 113 and 114, the arm 110, links 113 and 114, and lever 97all oscillating in unison substantially as one. Referring to Fig. 5, itwill be seen that when the vertical arm of the lever a9 is in backposition, the oscillatory movement of the arm 110 from the position inwhich it is shown in Fig. 4, to that in which it is shown in Fig. 5,will cause an angular movement of the links 113 and 114 such as todiminish the angle between said links. The lever 97 will thereby beoperated to retract the welt guide 48 with the arm 46.

to a position to the rear of its normal retracted position when themachine is brought to rest, so as to permit the shoe to be easilyremoved from the machine and another shoe to be placed in position to besewed.

At the completion of the sewing of a scam the thread leading from thethread handling devices to the shoe is severed by a suitable knife, andthe free end of the thread is in serted between the gripping deviceswhich hold the free ends of the thread during the formation of the firststitch. Since the machine is brought to rest with the needle inretracted position, when the machine is again started into operation thetakeup immediately begins its loop drawing stroke. This action of thetakeup, if exercised while the tension is'app'lied to the supply end ofthe thread, would operate to draw the free end of the threadfrom thegripping devices and interfere with the proper formation of the firststitch. It is therefore desirable that the tension be maintained inreleased condition until after the takeup has completed its first loopdrawing stroke. It is however desirable upon starting the machine thatthe brake strap 19 be slackened so that it will not frictionally engagethe coacting surface of the brake disk. In order to slacken the brakestrap when the treadle is depressed to start the machine, withoutcausing the tension tobe applied, the brake strap is connected with thelever 4 9 by means of a rotatable eccentric 115 ,carried by the shaft116 which connects the brake strap with the lever. An arm 117 isattached to the shaft 110 and is provided at its extremity with a slotwhich receives the end of the pin 118 which connects the link hen thetreadle is depressed to start the machine, the engagement of the pin 118in the slot in the arm 117 causes said arm to be actuated to rotate theeccentric 115 and thereby slacken the brake strap 49. V hen the treadleis released the arm 117 is actuated in the opposite direction, therebyrotating the eccentric 115 in a direction to tighten the brake strap.This movement of the eccentric is, however, not sullicient to engage thebrake strap with the surface of the brake disk, since there isconsiderable slack in the brake strap at this time. After the takeup hascompleted its loop drawing stroke, the linkage 7980 is broken so as topermit the spring 85 to op crate the lever 40 in a directionto permitthe tension to be restored to the supply end of the thread, and toreturn the parts of the welt guide mechanism to their normal positions.It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 5 that when the machine hasbeen brought to rest, the link 79 lies against a collar carried by thecam shaft of the machine, which collar forms a stop to limit themovement of the link 79 when the link age is straightened. After thetakeup has completed its loop drawing stroke the link 79 is lifted tobreak the linkage 79--S0 by a cam 119 carried by the cam shaft. When thelinkage is broken the lever 49 is moved to the right under the influenceof the spring 85, thereby lifting the arm 90 to permit the tension to berestored to the thread, and restoring the parts of the welt guideactuating mechanism to the position illustrated in Fig. 4. This movementof the lever 4-9 also causes the brake strap to be completely slackened.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention, andparticularly described one form of machine in which it may be embodied,what is claimed. isz

1. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming dc vices including a hook needle and a looper, a main shaft fromwhich said devices are operated, and mechanism to render the looperinactive during a forward cycle of movement of the machine and to causethe main shaft thereafter to come to rest with the needle in retractedposition out of engagement with the work.

2. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices includinga hook needle and a looper, a main shaft fromwhich said devices are operated, and mechanism to render the looperinactive during the forward rotation of the shaft and thereafter toarrest the forward rotation of the shaft and thereby the movements ofthe parts of the machine when the needle is in retracted position out ofengagement with the work.

3. A chain stitch inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination,stitch forming devices including a hook needle and a looper, a \vcllguidc, means to advance and rctract the wclt guidc during each cycle ofoperation, a. cam shaft mechanism for causing the needle to retractwhile its hook is empty and comc to rcst out of cngagcmcntwith the workduring the forward rotation of tlic cam shaft and mcans opcratcd duringthe forward rotation of thc cam shaft for importing an incrcascdrctracting movement to the wclt guide.

4.. An inscaln shoe scwing machine, having, in combination. stitchforming devices, a wclt guide, michanism for advancing and retractingtbc clt guidc during cach cycle of opcrat ions. a main shall, and mcansactuatcd by the fol ward movcmcnt of the shaft for causing all incrcascdrctracting movenicnt to be iln|artcd to thc \vcll guide to pcr mit thercmmal and inscl'tion of the work.

An insc: m shoc sewing ma hine. having, in combnation, stitch formingdcviccs, a main shaft from wxhich Said deviccs are actuated, a welt.guide, means to advance and retract the welt guide during each cycle ofoperations, and mechanism for causing an increased retracting movementto be imparted to the welt guide as the forward rotation of the shaft isarrested to stop the machine.

6. An inseam shoe sewing macaine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices. a welt guide, mechanism for advancing and. retracting the weltguide during each cycle of operations of the machine, a tension device,a main shaft and mechanism actuated by the forward rotation of the mainshaft of the machine to actu; '0 tie tension device to release thetension on the thread and to cause an increased retracting movement tobe imparted to the welt guide to permit tlre removal and insertion ofthe work.

7. A chain stitch inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination,stitch forming devices including a hook needle and a looper, a weltguide, mechanism for advancing and retracting the welt guide during eachcycle of operations of the machine, a tension device, mechanism to causethe needle to retract while its hook is empty and come to rest out ofengagement with the work during a forward cycle of movement of themachine, and mechanism for actuating the tension device to release thetension and for causing an increased retracting movement to be impartedto the welt guide as the needle is brought to rest.

8. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in cc nbination, stitchforming de vices including a hook needle and a loopcr, means to operatethe loopcr in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of theneedle. a cam actuated slide for imparting movcnicnts to the loopcr in aplane substan tially parallel with the plane of the needle comprisingindcpcmlcntly movable parts, a.

conncction between one of said parts and the loopcr. means to connectsaid parts so that they move in unison. and means to throw out saidconnecting mcans so that. substantially no movement is impartcdd thepart of said slidc connected with the loopcr.

H. A chain stitch sboc sewing machine, having. in combination, stitchforming dc vices including a-hook needle and a loopcr, mcans to impartmovcmcnts to the looper in a plane at right angles to the plane of thenccdlc. a cam actuated slide for imparting movements to thc loopcr in aplane parallcl with thc plane of the needle comprising indcpcndcntlymovable parts, one of which is cam actnatcd. a conncction bctwccn theothcr of said parts and the loopcr. a linkage conncctiug said parts sothat thcy opcratc in unison. and mechanism for causing the movements ofthe cam actuatcd part of the llll slide tobe absorbed in a relativeangular movement of the parts of the linkageso that siibstantially nomovement is imparted to the part of the slide connected with the looper.

10. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a camactuated slide for imparting movements to the looper in a plane parallelwith the plane of the needle comprising independently movable parts, oneof which-is actuated by the cam, a connection between the other of saidparts and the looper, a linkage connecting said parts, means to maintainthe linkage normally in a relatively straightened condition comprising atilting pin normally extending parallel with the direction of movementof the slide, a slide block arranged to slide on said pin and connectedwith the linkage, and mechanism for tilting the pin to cause a relativeangular movement of the parts of the linkage during the movements of thecam actuated part of the slide so that substantially no movement isimparted to the part of the slide connected with the looper.

11. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a main shaft from which said devices are actuated, a tensiondevice, and positively operating means acting automatically to actuatethe tension device to release the tension as the forward rotation of theshaft is arrested to stop the machine.

12. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices, a welt guide, means to advance and retract the weltguide during each cycle of operations, a tension device, a main shaft,means to arrest the forwardrotation of the shaft, and means actingautomatically to actuate the tension device to release the tension andto cause an increased retracting movement to be imparted to the weltguide as the forward rotation of the shaft is arrested.

13. A chain stitch inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination,stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle, a looper, a weltguide, means to advance and retract the welt guide during each cycle ofoperations, a tension device, a main shaft, means to render the looperinactive during a forward cycle of movement of the machine andthereafter to arrest the rotation of the shaft when the needle is inretracted position out'of engagement with the work, and means actingautomatically to actuate the tension device to release the tension andto cause an increased retracting movement to be imparted to the weltguide as the shaft is brought to rest.

14. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices, a welt guide, a. welt guide slide, a lever foractuating the slide, and mechanism for actuating the lever comprising acam operated arm pivoted on the lever, a toggle connecting the arm withthe lever, a second lever connected with the central joint of thetoggle, means 'to maintain the second lever in one position during thenormal operation of the machine, and means to change the position of thesecond lever upon stopping the machine to cause an increased retractingmovement to be imparted to the welt guide before the machine is broughtto rest. I p

15. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming fievices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a driveshaft from which said devices are actuated, braking and slow Speedforward driving mechanism for the shaft, means to throw said mechanisminto action at a predetermined point in a cycle of operations and tothrow said mechanism out of action and stop the machine, and means torender the looper inactive. i I

16. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are actuated, braking and slow speedforward driving mechanism for the shaft, means to throw said mechanisminto operation and to throw said mechanism out ofoperation and stop themachine at a predetermined point in a cycle of movement of the machine,and means to render the looper inactive.

17. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices includinga curved hook needle and a looper, a main shaftfrom which said de vices are actuated, braking and slow speed forwarddriving mechanism for the shaft,

means to throw said mechanism into operation in a cycle of operations ofthe machine before the thread is laid in the barb of the needle, and tothrow said mechanism out of operation and stop the machine when theneedle is retracted out of engagement with the work, and means to renderthe looper inactive.

18. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are actuated, braking and slow speedforward driving mechanism for the shaft, means to throw said mechanisminto operation and to throw said mechanism out of operation and stop themachine at predetermined points in a cycle of movement of the machine,and means to render the looper inactive.

19. -An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices, a main shaft from which said devices are actuated, atension device, a welt guide, means to advance and retract the weltguide during each cycle of operations, braking and slow-speed forwarddriving mechanism for the shaft, means to throw said mechanism intoaction and to throw said mechanism out of action and stop the machine,means to actuate the tension device to release the tension and to causean increased retracting movement to be imparted to the welt guide assaid mechanism is thrown out.

20. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including acurved hook needle and alooper, a main shaftfrom which said devices are actuated, braking and slow speed forwarddriving mechanism for the shaft, means to throw said mechanism into andout of action, and means to render the looper inactive.

21. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a takeup, a main shaft from which said devices are actuated, atension device, automatically operating mechanism to actuate the tensiondevice upon stopping the machine to release the tension, and means tocause the tension to be restored after the takeup completes its firstloop drawing stroke upon starting the machine.

22. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are operated, mechanism including a timingcam to render the looper inactive during a forward cycle of movement ofthe machine and to arrest the rotation of the shaft and stop the machinewith the needle in retracted position out of engagement with the work.

23. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are actuated. devices for arresting theforward rotation of the shaft at a predetermined point, and means torender the looper inactive at least a predetermined interval before therotation of the shaft is arrested.

24. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are actuated, devices for arresting theforward rotation of the shaft at a predetermined point, and meansincluding a timing device for throwing the arresting devices into actionand for rendering the looper inactive at a predetermined point in arotation of the shaft.

25. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are operated, mechanism to check therotation of the shaft and thereafter to rotate the shaft at slow speedto stopping position, and means including a timing device for throwingsaid mechanism into action and for rendering the looper inactive at thesame point in the rotation of the shaft.

26. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a. mainshaft from which said. devices are actuated, devices for arresting theforward rotation of the shaft comprising means to check the rotation ofthe shaft and thereafter to rotate the shaft at slow speed to stoppingposition, mechanism including a timing device to throw said means intoaction and for throwing said means out of action and stopping themachine at predetermined points, and means controlled by the timingdevice to'render the looper inactive when said means are thrown intoaction.

27. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination. stitchforming devices including a curved hook needle and a looper, a mainshaft from which said devices are actuated, devices for arresting theforward rotation of the shaft constructed to cause the shaft to executeat least a predetermined forward movement after said arresting devicesare thrown into action before the shaft is brought to rest, and meansincluding a timing device to throw the arresting devices into action andsimultaneously to render the looper inactive.

28. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices including a hook needle and a looper, a main shaft fromwhich said devices are operated and mechanism acting, when thrown intooperation, to free the last needle loop from the stitch forming devicesduring the forward rotation of the shaft and to bring the shaft to restin predetermined position with the needle in retracted position out ofengagement with the work.

29. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a welt guide, a welt guide slide, means including a toggle foractuating the slide to advance and retract the welt guide during eachcycle of operations and to, retract the welt guide to the rear of itsnormal retracted position upon stopping the machine.

30. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, includ-. ing a hook needle and a looper, a main shaft fromwhich said devices are operated, stopping devices for arresting therotation of the shaft and means to render the 'looper inactive.

31. A shoe sewin machine, having, in combination, stitch aming devices,a tension device automatically operating mechanism to release thetension upon stopping the machine acting to maintain the tension inreleased condition until the takeup has completed its first loop drawingstroke upon starting the machine.

LAURENCE E. TOPHAM. Witnesses:

RUTH E. WARD, CHESTER E. ROGERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O.

